


The Frog King

by goodluckgettingtosleep



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Crack, Humor, M/M, Spells & Enchantments, Transformation, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-25 19:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6207106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodluckgettingtosleep/pseuds/goodluckgettingtosleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur gets turned into a frog when he tries to protect Merlin from Morgana, and there's only one way to reverse the spell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Frog King

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this](http://lilybells.tumblr.com/post/22948319164/had-to-split-this-into-two-cause-there-were-too) post on Tumblr. I loved the idea, so I borrowed it to write this little fic. It came as a nice distraction from the longer story I'm currently working on.  
> Don't take it too seriously, though, I just wanted to write something fluffy and funny (in the middle of the night)! :) 
> 
> Huge thanks and lots of hugs to my beta [edenofalltrades](http://archiveofourown.org/users/edenofalltrades/pseuds/edenofalltrades) ♥

Merlin felt a sharp sort of pain shooting through his body when he hit the tree and fell down to the ground. An ambush. He should’ve known it. He was supposed to be alert at all times, not entranced by Arthur’s face as he was telling him a story from his childhood. Merlin couldn’t help it; there was something about Arthur that made him feel all warm and tingly, especially when he was telling him a story with that soft look on his face. Even though he was such a major prat, usually. Maybe he’d hit his head one time too often throughout the years. Why else would he develop a ridiculous crush on the biggest prat he’d ever known? It wasn’t even that his crush was a new thing, or something he’d discovered only recently. No, sadly enough, Merlin had been pining after the clotpole for years. Only this time it had actually endangered them, and that had never happened before.

Merlin should’ve known Morgana would try something. She’d been too quiet for far too long and Arthur going out for a hunt without his knights or any guards must have looked like the perfect opportunity.

He heard Arthur groan next to him, and that’s what made him snap back to reality and jump back up to his feet. Merlin had to save Arthur, like he always did.

But being directly confronted by Morgana was something that hadn’t happened like that before either and Merlin wasn’t sure what to do. His magic was easily strong enough to fight her and get Arthur to safety, but that also meant that we would have to use it _in front_ of Arthur and he wasn’t sure he was ready for that. The thought of Arthur banishing him, or just feeling torn between his personal feelings and his responsibility for the kingdom made him feel sick. He didn’t want to put Arthur in that position.

Merlin bit his lip so hard as he stared at Morgana that he felt the skin breaking and tasted blood; he barely felt the pain, though, far too busy trying to figure out what to do next.

He groaned and looked at Arthur, who was lying on the ground and clutching his arm to his chest. Merlin wondered for a moment if it was broken.

He really had no choice. Merlin raised his hand, but before he could do so much as think of a spell, or listen to an instinct, an invisible force knocked him to the ground. He felt something cut his cheek and moments later the blood running down his face.

He had to fight this.

Merlin groaned again as he pushed himself back up.

“Enough, Morgana!” he roared, and in that moment he was more Emrys than Merlin.

Morgana just laughed at him and raised her hand. Merlin raised his, too, ready to block her spell. But before he could do that, Arthur jumped in front of him - noble as he was, the idiot - and the spell hit him right in the chest. In the blink of an eye he disappeared, his clothes and armour falling to the ground, empty.

He heard Morgana laugh again before she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke and Merlin sank down to the floor, tears burning in his eyes.

No. He couldn’t have failed, not now. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

He stared at the pile of chainmail and linen, clueless as to which spell Morgana had used. Had she sent Arthur to another place? Or had she killed him?

The thought of the possibility alone caused Merlin to shed a tear, and then another.

It couldn’t be. Before he knew it, his body was shaking with soft sobs.

“Arthur,” he said helplessly, reaching out towards his clothes.

He hoped more than anything that he wouldn’t find a heap of ash or something of the sort inside. “Arthur, please.”

But then he saw something move under the pile of clothes and metal. There was a rustling inside, followed by more movement and a - was that a _croak_?

Merlin stared. It had definitely been a croak.

And surely enough, moments later a frog’s head appeared, staring at Merlin with piercing eyes. Merlin wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry some more.

Arthur was a frog. Morgana had turned him into a frog.

In the end Merlin decided to laugh in relief, and to pick up the slimy creature and cradle it against his chest. A spell like that he could reverse; if Arthur had been dead-- Merlin didn’t even want to think about it.

“There, there,” he said softly as he petted Arthur’s head. “Look at you, all green and slimy. Fits your personality, if you think about it.” Merlin chuckled to himself. “You do know you’ll never hear the end of this, right?”

But before Merlin could tease - a hopefully very human - Arthur, he had to take him back to Camelot to ask Gaius for help. They had to find a way to reverse the spell.

 

+++

 

To avoid questions as to why Merlin was returning without the King, and to avoid causing an uproar, Merlin snuck into the castle through the secret tunnel Arthur had once helped Mordred escape through.

Gaius was eating supper when Merlin entered his chambers - and was genuinely surprised to see Merlin, if his spoon landing in his stew with a splash was any indication.

“Merlin! I didn’t know you and Arthur had returned already!”

“Um… well, we didn’t... _officially_.”

Gaius looked genuinely confused, and Merlin couldn’t blame him.

“Something happened. We were ambushed by Morgana, and… well… I snuck in through the secret tunnel because I couldn’t very well present the people their King in the state he’s currently in.” Merlin sighed and reached into his satchel to pick Arthur up as gently as he could. He croaked, almost as if he was complaining about the way Merlin grabbed him and Gaius startled.

“May I present to you, King Arthur of Camelot.”

“He’s a frog!” Gaius pointed out rather unnecessarily. “Morgana turned him into a frog?”

“Yes. We need to turn him back, Gaius. There must be a spell, or--”

Gaius sighed. “This is another fine pickle you’ve gotten yourself into there, Merlin. The only way to reverse transformation spells like this is, well, a kiss.”

Merlin made a face. “A kiss?”

“True love’s kiss, to be precise.”

Merlin stared at the old man like he’d lost his mind.

“True love’s kiss? Are you serious?”

“I’m afraid I am. Only someone who truly loves Arthur, and whom he truly loves back can break the spell.”

Merlin flopped down on the bench, defeated. He cradled Arthur closer to his chest.

“But-- but Arthur banished Gwen! I don’t know where she is! We have to reverse this spell _now_ , Gaius, we don’t have time to find her.”

Gaius gaze grew softer. “Well, maybe someone else needs to try, then.”  

Merlin frowned. “Who?”

Instead of answering, Gaius just kept staring at him. It was truly infuriating, until Merlin realized what he was trying to imply.

“What, you mean-- you mean, _me_ ?” Gaius couldn’t be serious. “I can’t kiss Arthur! It won’t work, he doesn’t-- I don't--”

“You and Arthur share a destiny, my boy. And as far as I can tell, you truly care about him, too. It is worth a try.”

“But-- this is _true love’s kiss_ , Gaius! _If_ this works - and I doubt it will - wouldn’t it mean that-- What would it mean?”

Gaius gave Merlin a soft, almost pitying look. “I think you do know that already, my boy.”

Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He did love Arthur, he did. And he knew it. But there was no way that Arthur loved him back, not in the same way. Arthur loved Guinevere, and not Merlin.

Merlin was sure it wouldn’t work, but Gaius stared at him expectantly, and Merlin knew he wouldn’t let him go without at least trying.

So he stood up with a sigh and held Arthur up in front of him.

“All right, all right. I’ll try.”

Merlin pursed his lips and stared at the green amphibian in his hands.

“Ugh, this is disgusting… All right, then.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips to the slimy form of his transformed king. There was something warm shooting through him, his magic bubbling under his skin. He felt it reach out to someone, and then, suddenly the feeling of the slimy frog skin against his lips was replaced by the feeling of another pair of soft, warm lips.

 _Arthur_. It had worked.

Before Merlin could think his actions through, he pressed forward to get another taste of Arthur, of his king in his true shape, before pulling away and blushing.

Arthur looked dazed as he stared at Merlin, and he was naked as a jail bird.

Merlin noticed Gaius rushing to get something for Arthur to cover himself up in the corner of his eye, because he was too busy staring back at Arthur to turn his head.

Arthur took the sheet without tearing his eyes away from Merlin for even a second.

“Did you-- did you just kiss me?” he asked, dumbfounded.

Merlin bit his lip and blushed some more, his cheeks hot, even though it was fairly cool in Gaius’s chambers.

“I… uh, well, I... _had_ to.” He shrugged, trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

“What happened? I remember Morgana casting a spell… and then only the strange urge to eat flies.”

Merlin nodded, and if he wasn’t feeling so embarrassed he’d probably chuckle. “She turned you into a frog.”

“A f-- A FROG?" Arthur's eyes widened. "Well, isn’t that just great? I hope you didn’t tell anyone. I swear, Merlin, if you showed me around in this state--”

“I did not! I brought you to Gaius right away.”

Arthur looked relieved. Apparently it was very important to him not to look like a toad in front of his kingdom, even though Merlin would argue that he still was one.

“Good. Good, it seems you’re good for _something_ at least. But that still doesn’t explain why you kissed me.”

“Um--” Merlin started, but no word would come out. The true love’s kiss had worked between them, and that had to mean that Arthur loved him back. Arthur. Loved. Merlin.

It sounded too unreal to actually believe it.

“A spell like this one can only be broken by true love’s kiss, sire,” Gaius informed him.

“True love’s kiss? Really? I thought that was just a sappy myth.” Arthur looked sceptical.

“I’m afraid so.”

“And _Mer_ lin--” Arthur started jokingly, _mockingly_ almost, until he realized what that meant and went quiet, eyes wide. “I--” he started, then seemed to change his mind, shook his head and fled the room instead.

Merlin could just stand there for a moment, his mind blank, before clearing his throat and dryly commenting, “Well, that went well.”

 

+++

 

Merlin had to force himself to go to Arthur’s chambers to bring him dinner that night. He didn’t know how Arthur was feeling about everything that’d happened and it made him nervous. He felt irrationally scared that Arthur would banish him, or sack him, or just stop being his friend. And if there was anything Merlin couldn’t handle, it was losing Arthur, in whatever way.

Arthur was staring out of the window when Merlin finally worked up the courage to enter his chambers. He put the tray down on the table and when Arthur didn’t turn around or react in any way, Merlin cleared his throat.

“Um, dinner, sire,” he said awkwardly.

Arthur did turn around then, his eyes dark and filled with something that Merlin had trouble interpreting.

“About today--” Merlin started, “Um, look, Gaius suggested I could try and-- I was surprised it worked, honestly, I didn’t think--”

Arthur strode across the room with a look of determination in his eyes.

“Merlin,” he growled, voice low and raw. Merlin stepped back, but Arthur didn’t stop, not until Merlin’s back hit the door. Arthur pinned him there, one hand on each side of Merlin’s head. “Will you shut up?”

Merlin opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped by Arthur’s lips crashing against his and kissing him roughly. A moan escaped Merlin’s mouth, and before he knew it, he was kissing Arthur back just as hard.

He wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist, holding him close as his kisses grew softer, deeper and more passionate. Merlin wasn’t sure what was happening, but he loved it; he loved the feeling of Arthur’s lips, and the feeling of his magic going wild inside his veins. He loved the warmth, and the tingling sensation Arthur’s touches caused him to feel and he never wanted to let go again.

They were both panting heavily when Arthur pulled away again, and he looked so gorgeous with his red, swollen lips, red cheeks and tousled hair. Merlin felt just a little bit warm inside knowing that he was the one who had caused his king to look dishevelled like that.

“Fuck,” Arthur said, one hand coming up to wipe over his face. “I do love you.”

Merlin’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help the brilliant smile spreading on his face. His cheeks were heating up and he felt his heart hammering against his ribcage.

“Well-- true love’s kiss made that quite clear,” Merlin said lightly.

Arthur met his eyes. “So you…”

“I love you, too, yeah.” Suddenly it was so easy to say it, so easy to admit.

Arthur nodded. “Good.”

He turned and walked over to the table, where he flopped down into his seat.

“Did you know about this?” Arthur asked after he’d just been sitting there, looking pensive for a few minutes. His question sounded almost accusing.

“Um… well, I did know that I have some… um, _feelings_ for you.”

Arthur looked exasperated.

“See, I had no idea. But then Gaius said your kiss broke the spell, and somehow it made sense. I can’t even explain it. I just had this strange feeling… that it was right this way. I feel disgustingly sappy even saying this. So I spent all afternoon wondering how it is possible that, apparently, I fell in love with my clumsy fool of a manservant and didn’t even notice.”

Merlin stared at him. “Oh. You really didn’t--”

“Do you understand how inconvenient this is?”

“Well… look, Arthur, I don’t expect this-- _us_ to--”

Arthur shook his head.

“ _Mer_ lin. Again, will you shut up?”

Merlin raised his hands in surrender.

“We won’t talk about this for now. My... _feelings_  came as quite a surprise and I have to figure this all out first.” Arthur shook his head. “I mean, _you_ of all people. _How_? Wait, Morgana didn’t cast any other spells on me, did she?”

Merlin felt a bit like he’d entered an alternate universe.

Arthur kissing him, Arthur talking about his feelings… Merlin started to wonder if maybe being a frog had affected his brain. But then he was being his usual arrogant self again and Merlin doubted it. He glared.

" _No,_ " he drawled. "And I won’t say anything,” Merlin promised. “Just for the record, though, I don’t particularly like being in love with the worst royal prat I’ve ever known either.” He snorted. “Why, I have no idea.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him. But when he opened his mouth to shoot back, all that came out was a croak, and Merlin burst into laughter.

Arthur would really, truly never hear the end of that frog story. It was too good to let it go to waste. Just like Merlin still liked to tease him about the donkey incident.

There was another croak in protest, and Merlin had to clutch the table to stop himself from falling out of the chair because he was laughing so hard.

 

+++

 

**A year later:**

 

“Where the hell have you been?” Arthur asked as he entered Gaius’s chambers without knocking. Gaius was out collecting herbs, and Merlin was working on a potion for his own headache. After a day in the library, looking for a particular spell, Merlin felt like his head was about to explode.

“In the library,” Merlin said without looking up.

Arthur wrapped his arms around him from behind and pressed a kiss against the side of his neck. Merlin shivered.

“What were you doing?”

“Looking for a spell. There has to be something I can do to keep Morgana out.”

Arthur hummed. “I’m sure you’ll find something. You always do.”

Merlin smiled softly and turned in Arthur’s arms to kiss him longingly.

“I missed you, too, you know?”

Arthur smiled smugly. “Of course you did.”

He kissed him again, pressing closer this time and causing Merlin to knock over a vial. Merlin didn’t even bother to look; he was too busy biting down on Arthur’s lower lip, making him moan softly.

Sometimes he still couldn’t believe that he could have this whenever he wanted now, and all because Morgana had turned Arthur into a frog that one fateful day. _A frog_ , of all things.

Merlin lost track of time when he was kissing Arthur, lost in the overwhelming sensation of feelings swirling through his body.

This time, it was Gaius who broke them apart when he came back from his hunt for herbs. He cleared his throat very loudly, disapproving eyebrow raised high on his forehead

“Ugh, boys. Is that really necessary?”

Arthur grinned and pressed one last kiss to Merlin’s mouth.

“I’m afraid it is, Gaius. It comes with the destiny thing, it’s not like we have a choice,” he said jokingly, but Merlin could hear the fondness in his voice.

Gaius shook his head. “You always had a choice.”

Arthur gave Merlin an adoring smile. “Yeah… I know.”

Gaius had to suffer through one last kiss before Arthur left his chambers to go back to attending to his duties. “See you later,”  he whispered against Merlin’s lips, making him shiver once more.

“I should have let you go looking for Gwen last year, shouldn’t I?” Gaius asked with a sigh when Arthur was gone, sounding fondly exasperated. Merlin couldn’t blame him. Gaius had walked in on them many times over the past year, and it couldn’t have been pleasant. He knew Gaius didn’t quite approve of their new relationship, but the old man had accepted by now that there was no way Merlin and Arthur would stay away from each other anymore, so eventually he’d stopped bothering.

Merlin smiled.

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

  
-Fin-


End file.
